Prognostic value of the duke activity Status Index Questionnaire in predicting mortality in patients with chronic heart failure: 36-month follow-up study

Background The Duke Activity Status Index (DASI) questionnaire has been the focus of numerous investigations - its discriminative and prognostic capacity has been continuously explored, supporting its use in the clinical setting, specifically during rehabilitation in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF).However, studies exploring optimal DASI questionnaire threshold scores are limited. Objective To investigate optimal DASI questionnaire thresholds values in predicting mortality in a CHF cohort and assess mortality rates based on the DASI questionnaire using a thresholds values obtained. Methodology This is a prospective cohort study with a 36-month follow-up in patients with CHF. All patients completed a clinical assessment, followed by DASI questionnaire, pulmonary function, and echocardiography. The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to discriminate the DASI questionnaire score in determining the risk of mortality. For survival analysis, the Kaplan-Meier model was used to explore the impact of <=/>23 points on mortality occurring during the 36-month follow-up. ResultsOne hundred and twenty-four patients were included, the majority being elderly men. Kaplan Meier analysis revealed that <=/> 23 was a strong predictor of CHF mortality over a 36-month follow-up. Conclusion A score of <=/>23 presents good discriminatory capacity to predict mortality risk in 36 months in patients with CHF, especially in those with reduced or mildly reduced ejection fraction. Age, ejection fraction, DASI questionnaire score and use of digoxin are risk factors that influence mortality in this population.